Badke(remix) by laGeste & Stereo48 is a Belgian-Palestinian dance performance that puts a new spin on the earlier production Badke. This version is shaped artistically by Amir Sabra and Ata Khatab, who build on a performance that once meant a great deal to a generation of Palestinian dancers.
Badke(remix) brings different worlds together. The foundation is dabke, the Palestinian folk dance, alongside influences from hip hop, capoeira, and circus. The result is a contemporary performance where tradition and new forms meet.
The performance shows the power of collective dancing. Togetherness, community, and belonging are central. At the same time, there is room for tension, pain, and the harsh reality of daily life. Beneath the celebratory surface you feel the weight of war, occupation, and loss, and it is precisely this that gives the energy on stage its deeper meaning.
Music plays an important role throughout. It draws on the rousing dabke music of Nasser Al-Fares, known from wedding celebrations on the West Bank. What begins as festive and sweeping gradually takes on an abrasive edge, keeping pleasure and pain in close proximity throughout.
Badke(remix) does not seek a fixed or “pure” form of tradition. The makers show instead that tradition can move and change. How many new influences can a folk dance absorb? And how do you give it new shape without losing its core? These questions resonate throughout the entire performance.
The result is an intense and physical dance performance full of rhythm, endurance, and resilience. Badke(remix) shows how dance brings people together, even in the hardest of circumstances. A performance about strength, resistance, and carrying on together.
SHIFT
This performance is part of SHIFT: the label for unpolished performing arts. Expect raw, poetic, personal performances, no glitter, no facades. Shows you simply must see, by young and established makers engaging with current events and the future. You come to SHIFT because you want to know what is going on: in your head, in the world, in others, in yourself, in the big picture and in the small. For curious thinkers and critical dreamers. SHIFT is an initiative of Explore the North and Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie.
SHIFT season 2026/2027 is made possible in part through financial support from Fonds 21.